Wild Fiction

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‘It’s like this. We have this problem of mortality. All fictional characters face this problem. Initially we exist in the imagination of the author while he’s creating us. Then, like right now, for example, we exist in the mind of the reader. If there’s always somebody reading our story, then we’ll always exist. When the reader puts down the book he or she needs to continue thinking about us, or talk to someone about us, for us to continue to exist in his or her mind.’
‘I think I’m beginning to understand,’ Rebecca said. ‘So our existence is based in the minds of people. Who are these people?’
‘Real people, people who live in the real world and buy books in the book stores and go to work and do things, real things.’
‘Are you saying that we’re not real people?’
‘Yes, we’re fictionals. We’ve been created to entertain the real people of this world. The one that’s currently reading this story. We only exist in your mind.’
‘In my mind?’
‘No, I was talking to the person reading the previous sentence.’
‘Okay I’m with you, now let’s get back on track. If this book’s never published, then we’ll only exist when the author thinks about us. Which may be never, right?’
‘Correct,’ James replied. ‘Unless, of course, he uses us in another book which is published. But then we face the same problem. The book needs to be published, and not only that, it also needs to be a best seller.’
‘Why a best seller?’
‘One of the things we have in common with real people is our desire to live forever. Almost everybody wants to live forever. It’s a common desire we have for a perpetual existence. For fictionals like us it means a situation where someone, somewhere in the world, is always reading, thinking or talking about us.’
‘Isn’t that a bit egotistical?’
‘Fictional vanity is a necessity for our survival. Without the vain desire to shine and be the topic of conversation we’ll wither and cease to exist. Take a movie star as an analogy. When the public stop paying attention to him, his market value declines and finally he can’t find work because he’s become passé. They continuously have to promote themselves. We’re the same. For our survival we need to become never-ageing movie stars, fictional classics. Take Scarlet O’Hara from Gone With the Wind. People still talk about her today and identify with her. She has achieved fictional immortality.’
‘I understand. You can stop the examples and analogies.’ Rebecca felt slightly inadequate after hearing Scarlet O'Hara's name mentioned. She felt the pressure as well as a desire to become as famous as Scarlet O’Hara had.

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